ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a 75-70 victory over Post University here tonight during opening night action of the ECC / CACC Challenge. Roberts Wesleyan College is hosting the two-day event, which features teams from the East Coast Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. It also marked the season-opener for Post.
Sophomore Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) had a solid return to action following an injury-shortened 2014-15 season and finished with a team-high 15 points to pace Daemen's balanced attack. Senior Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village Prep) connected on 6-of-10 shots and equaled her career-high for points (12). She also totaled 10 rebounds and a career-high three assists. Senior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) totaled 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and a career-high five steals, while sophomore Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) added nine points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Junior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) chipped in eight points and four rebounds, while sophomore Liz Miles (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) equaled her career-high for points (8) in just 10 minutes off the bench.
Junior forward Jovan Kingwood (Norwalk, Conn.) paced the Eagles with 19 points, while junior forward Tyra Jones (Rochester, N.Y.) added 18 points.
The game was the first for both teams with the new format adopted by the NCAA that features four 10-minute quarters.
Post jumped out to an early 11-4 lead and later took a 15-6 lead following a two free throws by junior Nicole Sheloski (Hudson, Falls, N.Y.) with 6:05 left in the first quarter. Daemen answered with an 8-2 run and cut the lead to three points, 17-14, following a layup by Miles with just over three minutes left in the quarter, but the Eagles scored the final seven points of the quarter and took a 24-14 lead into the second stanza.
Daemen scored the first five points of the second quarter, as junior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) drained two free throws and hit a three-pointer. The lead was 28-23 in favor of Post when the Eagles put together a 6-0 burst and took a 34-23 lead following a layup by Kingwood with 5:25 left before halftime. The teams then traded baskets and Post held a 38-27 lead when a layup by Miles sparked the Wildcats on a quarter-ending 10-0 run. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by McDonell (who had five points during the spurt) capped the run and cut the Post lead to a point, 38-37, at halftime.
The teams traded baskets early in the third quarter and Daemen held a 43-42 lead when the Eagles got back-to-back three pointers and a layup for a 50-43 lead. A triple by Heinold stopped the bleeding and Post later held a 54-49 lead with under four minutes left in the quarter when the Wildcats once again closed out the quarter strong. A layup by Miles and a three-pointer by Saba sparked the Wildcats on a 13-0 run that gave Daemen a 62-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Daemen took its first double-digit lead following back-to-back buckets by Miles and newcomer Jesse DeWaters (Lockport, N.Y./Niagara County CC) at the start of the fourth, and the lead later increased to 14 points, 73-59, following a three-pointer by Heinold with 4:24 to play. Post made things interesting by scoring eight unanswered points over the final 1:48.
Daemen shot 41-percent (28-69) from the field overall and made 7-of-25 from behind the three-point arc. Post made 28-of-71 shots overall (39%) and connected on 5-of-17 three-pointers. Daemen won the battle of the boards (45-41) and the Wildcats forced 20 Post turnovers which Daemen converted into 16 points off turnovers.
Second-round action of the ECC / CACC Challenge takes place tomorrow at RWC. Daemen will take on Nyack College at 2 p.m., followed by RWC vs. Post at 4 p.m.
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